Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-01-21
EORTY-NINTH CONGRESS-.
Second Session,
Sen ATE.
WAsHINGrON, Jan. %

! 1he presiding officer presented message
from the President. vetoing the bill granting 9
pension to William Dickens. The ground
OF the veto Is that pension had been already
IN December, 1886 given to the beneficiary
through the pension office; referred.
Mr.. Malone, from the committee on pub
lie buildings, reported bill for the compile
ton of a monument to the mother Of Wash
ington; calendar
Mr.. Blair gave notice that Tuesday next
he would ask the Senate to take up and act
upon joint resolution proposing an amend
ment to the constitution so as to authorize
woman's suffrage.
Mr.. Hoar called up the conference report
on the electoral count bill, The report was
agreed to.
At o'clock the Senate went into secret
session.
The doors were reopened at 45O and the
Senate adjourned.
Mr. Cultivate of Ohio, from the commit
tee on the Pacific railroads, reported back
the following resolution, which was adopted ::
Resolved, That the secretary of the treas
ury be, and is hereby requested to inform
the House of R. representatives. as soon as
practicable, the sums of money which were
owing to the United Strtes the first dav of
January, 1887, from the Pacific railroads
which have received aid from the govern
ment in bonds, giving the sums which are
due, principa. and interest, under the exist
Ing law, severaly and collectively, from
SAID companies, aud what will be the result
to the treasury and effect upon these debts if
the House bill No. 93lS should become law
and its provisions be complied with.
At O'Clock the House resumed considera-
nf
State commerce bill, and an understanding
was arrived at whereby session was ordered
for tonight for discussion of the report at
the close of which session the previous ques-
ton shall be considered as ordered and vote
on the adoption of the report taken tomorrow
morning after the reading of the journal.
The bill referred to is that introduced BY
Mr.. Cultivate providing for the payment of
the Pacific railroads Indebtedness to the gov
eminent by iustallments so arranged that the
average date of maturity shall be October |,
1921.
After a short discussion, on motion of Mr.
Crisp OF Georgia, by unanimous consent it
was ordered that session should be held to-
night for the discussion of the report
Mr.. Dibble of South Carolina favored re-
committal of the bill to the conference COM
mittee for the purpose of having its defects
such recommittal would not endanger the
passage of the bill.
Mr.. Bragg of Wisconsin opposed the hill
few years ago the legal tender decision OF
the supreme court had been reversed and
public opinion said it had been reversed bv a
vote of two justices appointed at the request
of certain railroad companies. Still later,
public opinion had it that large sums of
money were furnished to carry on the cam
paign in Indiana as the prices of appoint
ment He did not say that public opinion
was correct; he expressed no opinion upon
that point, but he did express the opinion
that if Congress assumed control of all the
railroad companies in the United States it
would mass all the capital of the railroad
companies and make it a factor in federal
elections. If Congress provided for the ap-
pointment of persons who were to continne
this law, it would force the railroad capital
into political canvass in order to secure the
election of A man who would bend his knee
to the wishes of the railroad companies
Therefore, he regarded the bill as danger
GUS exercise of power.
MIR. Grosvenor of Ohio said the bill was a
mass of incongruties. 1t provided for the
appointment of five commissioners, not more
than three of whom shall belong to the same
political party. How was the othar two to
be appointed? Was the clause put in to
enable the President and Senate TO declare
whether the genus "mugwump" was sep
crate political party OF only a parisitical
growth upon the body of some other politi
cal party?
Mr.. Cutcheon suggested that it would be
worth something to find that out.
Mr.. Long of Massachusetts did not agree
in wholesale denunciation of the bill. He
believed that mauv of its provisions should
become a law. The only difficulty was in
the fourth and fifth sections, and if these
sections were dropped there would be practi-
cally no objection to the bill.
Mr. Findley of Maryland criticised the
long and short haul feature.
Mr.. Warner of Ohio expressed his approv-
al of it, and Mr.. Holman of Indians, while
admitting that it was open to criticism, sup
ported the bill.
The House then at 3 80 took recess until
730, the evening session to be for further
debate on the conference report.
There was small attendance of members
at the evening session. All but four of the
10 members present spoke favorably of the
bill
The House at lO, 35 adjourned.